After alternating between Orlando, FL, and Chicago, IL, for a better part of a decade, Coverings — the International Tile and Stone Exhibition — held its 2011 edition in Las Vegas, NV. With the intention of attracting more West Coast visitors, the show took place from March 14 to 17 at the Sands Expo & Conference Center. And show organizer National Trade Productions (NTP) deemed the event a success — with West Coast attendance up 71% from the previous year.

Total attendance at this year’s event was 19,000, and more than 1,000 exhibitors were on the show floor — displaying a broad spectrum of stone and tile collections, installation and maintenance products and stone fabrication machinery, tools and accessories. Coverings 2011 also included more than 100 first-time exhibitors, reported NTP.

Also on the show floor were national pavilions from various countries such as Brazil, China, Italy and Spain. Both the Ceramic Tiles of Italy and Tile of Spain booths drew crowds daily with their offering of native food for lunch and cocktail hours in the afternoon.